sufficient information led him to greatly underestimate the strength of the invading armies and had grave consequences for the Ottomans. On 9 October the Bulgarian high command ordered its Third Army, which formed the left flank of the invading forces, to capture Kirk Kilisse. This coincided with the beginning of the Ottoman offensive and the advance of the III Corps against the Bulgarian left. Its commander, Mahmoud Mohtar Pasha, expected weak resistance but instead his 23 infantry battalions were pitted against the 48 infantry battalions of the Bulgarian 4th and 5th divisions when the two forces collided at the villages of Petra, Eskipolos and Elekler. In the ensuing struggle, the Ottomans were overwhelmed and forced to retreat in panic which meant that the planned encirclement of the Bulgarians was impossible. The remaining Ottoman forces further west were also suffering defeats and the overall situation deteriorated rapidly. Abdullah Pasha ordered a general retreat and abandoned the Empire's most strategic defensive position on the Balkan Peninsula. In addition more than 60,000 Ottoman troops were surrounded in Adrianople and the Bulgarian Third Army took Kirk Kilisse on 11 October. With the end of the Battle of Kirk Kilisse battle the Bulgarian high command chose to rest its forces instead of vigorously pursuing the retreating Ottomans. The Ottomans used the time to establish a new defensive line. By the time the Bulgarian Third and First armies resumed their advance their opponents were thoroughly entrenched and reinforced. When the Battle of Lule Burgas began the Bulgarians were forced to engage in a direct frontal assault with around 108,000 riflemen against the 126,000 riflemen of the Ottomans. The Third Army was to bear the brunt of the fighting as the First Army was forced to leave substantial forces to guard its rear and right flank in the direction of Adrianople. Despite their numerical superiority the Ottoman armies were routed after a five-day battle. The nature of the battle however also caused heavy casualties to the Bulgarians, especially in the ranks of the heavily engaged Third Army which had some 15,561 men killed or wounded and 2,911 missing from its ranks. The losses and exhaustion of the soldiers again forced the Bulgarian command to order a couple of days rest. When the Bulgarians continued the advance the Ottoman Army was entrenched at the last defensive line before Constantinople – the Chataldzha defensive line. The Bulgarian tsar as